The most common way to eat geoduck is by simmering it in Chinese hot pot dishes, or dipping it in soy sauce and green mustard sauce.

Like clams, oysters and other bivalves, live geoducks are most popular and are best kept in cold saltwater pools with good water circulation. Canadian geoducks are produced in the clean, remote waters of the British Columbia coast and have a reputation for high quality and careful harvesting and packaging. Geoduck, affectionately called "geoduck" by the Chinese because of its large, fleshy siphon, is considered a treasure due to its extremely sweet flavor and crunchy texture.

When buying live geoducks, look for ones with fresh siphons, fleshy flesh, and firm ones. If you plan to cook geoducks that day, ask a store clerk to remove them from the shells and remove the dark, egg-sized, oval stomachs. What remains should be the siphon. In response, the Professional Underwater Fishermen's Association advises against eating the dark stomach or "guts" of geoducks.

To prepare, cut the siphon from the flesh of the body and split it in half lengthwise at the two holes in the thicker end. Then, using an extremely sharp knife, cut the siphon diagonally into paper-like slices. After removing the soft parts, the body meat can be served thinly sliced ??like siphons or shredded in a delicious puree.

Please note that geoducks harden quickly after cooking. So scalding it very quickly in a pot of simmering bouillon with boiling water, or just as quickly throwing it into a boiling sauce, works best.

Here, here’s a quick and easy hot dipping sauce for piping hot geoduck clams:

Heat the tamari and the same amount of canned chicken stock over the fire or in the microwave , add one or two pieces of small pepper. Add a little sugar to taste and serve with some chopped shallots or cilantro. Drizzle with a little sesame oil, or add some geoduck while you sauté the snow peas, carrots, and water chestnuts, and serve immediately.

In the mid-1980s, geoduck began to be introduced to the mainland from Hong Kong and gradually became popular in high-end restaurants in the mainland. Because the geoducks used in the mainland at that time were mostly produced in the deep sea of ??North America and arrived by air, they were expensive.

In fact, geoducks are produced from my country's Liaodong Peninsula to the coast of Hainan Island. However, Shandong calls them zi, while Jiangsu calls them hemp clams. In some places, they call them elephant trunk clams, mud bamboo shoots, and sea clams. Bamboo shoots etc. Geoduck is the general name for species of the mollusk phyla Lamellibranchidae. The shell is thin and brittle. The two shells are small and usually equal. There are serrated teeth on the front end of the shell, and there are auxiliary shells on the back, abdomen and rear end of the back shell. The water pipes are extremely developed, and the thick water pipes cannot be completely retracted into the shell. Some of the parts left outside the shell are more than 10 centimeters long, shaped like an elephant's trunk, hence the name.

In the past, because geoduck was a high-end seafood, and most chefs did not know much about the purchase, feeding, preliminary processing and cooking techniques of geoduck, mainland chefs often stayed away from it. To this end, the author specially introduces some of his own experiences and experiences to communicate with everyone.

1. Selection of varieties

Currently, domestically produced geoducks are available on the mainland market, and their prices are nearly 10 times cheaper than imported ones. Therefore, when purchasing geoducks, we need to identify their varieties. and quality are particularly important. The varieties of geoduck currently on the market are:

The imperial concubine is mainly produced along the coasts of Fujian and Guangdong. From the outside, the shell of the imperial concubine clam is oval and arched, with a gray-white shell that vaguely reveals a light red color. When it is in the water, the mouth of the clam is slightly open, and the water suction tube stretches out. The water suction tube is snow-white and crystal clear, and it looks extremely beautiful. Rich in beauty. Imperial clams are suitable for steaming and cooking.

Ivory clams are produced along the coasts of Fujian and Guangdong. Ivory clams are small, usually only 5 to 7 centimeters long. The meat is sweet, but the meat yield is not high. Because it is not expensive, it is more popular among people. Ivory clams are suitable for stir-frying, stir-frying, boiling and other methods.

The black-shelled geoduck produced in the United States has a deep black shell; the thin-shelled geoduck produced in Canada has a thin and white shell. These two types of imported geoducks are relatively large in size, with extremely plump, white, crisp and tender meat, and contain a large amount of milky juice. Imported geoducks are expensive and are usually only available in high-end hotels.

When purchasing geoducks, in addition to identifying the species, you should also pay attention to whether they are fresh, because they will taste delicious when cooked fresh. The way to buy is to see and touch. To the eye, if the shell is open and cannot be closed again, it is a dead clam; if you touch it with your hands, if the shell still looks "hard", it is also a dead clam. In addition, if you pinch it slightly with your hands before initial processing, the flesh will jump and shrink. After slicing, the flesh will be transparent and wavy with a fresh aroma, which means it is alive. On the contrary, if it is straight and has a fishy smell after slicing, that is Inanimate.

2. Feeding

Because the price of geoduck is high, feeding and keeping it fresh is particularly important. Some hotels raise geoducks in saltwater seafood ponds. Although this method allows guests to watch and choose, if one of them dies, it will spew out bacteria-carrying sewage, affecting the survival of other geoducks and causing economic losses to the hotel. The author's experience in keeping and feeding geoducks is: wrap the live geoducks in paper first, then wrap them in clean wet cloth, put them in a freezer with a temperature of minus 4°C to 10°C, and then take them out every day to let them Breathe salt water for 5 minutes, wrap it up and put it in the freezer. This will keep the geoduck alive for 7 to 10 days.

3. Preliminary processing

Geoducks mainly feed from fresh water pipes. During initial processing, the shells are removed and the internal organs are removed, and the outer skin is removed from the water pipe. In the past, many friends used blades to remove the outer skin of water pipes, but this method was wasteful. The author's experience is: after removing the internal organs from the geoduck, put it in 80℃ hot water and drag it with water. The outer skin can be peeled off like a lady taking off stockings, so that the maximum amount of clam meat can be taken out.

After taking out the mussel meat, it should be cut into slices, strips, or cut with a flower knife according to the requirements of different dishes. After putting it in a container, quickly chill it with ice cubes to make the meat more crispy. Cool.

Some friends think that geoduck meat is delicious and use its internal organs for cooking. In fact, this is very dangerous. Because the guts of geoducks contain red tide toxins, if the body absorbs too much, food poisoning may occur. In addition, sand is the most avoidable thing when eating geoduck. There seems to be no good way to deal with the sand in the clam meat. In fact, when you use a knife to pry open the clam shell, just make a slight cut along the length of the suction pipe (i.e. the clam meat), and then wash it, and there will be no sand in the clam meat.

Four. How to eat

Geoduck has a fresh and slightly sweet taste. The meat is tender and crisp. It is as delicious as oysters or even better. It does not have the usual earthy smell, so geoducks can be eaten raw. , and can be cooked.

You don’t need to blanch geoducks when eating them raw. You can cut them into thin slices and dip them into a flavored dish. However, it should be noted that when eating raw geoduck, it is best to choose geoducks from pollution-free deep seas. , Sautéed geoducks, stir-fried geoducks with kale, souped geoducks, etc.

The dishes are available in Chinese, Western and Japanese styles. Chinese flavor dishes can use various cold dish compound flavors, such as shredded ginger soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic yellow pepper sauce, etc.; Western flavor dishes usually use lemon juice, cocktail chili sauce; Japanese flavor dishes, that is what we The horseradish sauce flavor dish that we are all familiar with.

Commonly used methods for cooking geoduck include blanching, blanching, stir-frying, popping, and soaking in oil. Representative dishes include sea clams in chicken soup

5. Heat and seasoning

When cooking hot geoduck dishes, the heat should be high and the heat should be low rather than overheated, otherwise the clam meat will easily become old and tough, and the taste will be poor; the seasoning should be light and light to highlight the finished dish. Characteristics of whiteness and freshness.

Of course, geoducks are also very unique when cooked with strong color and rich taste. Below, I will introduce to you two Sichuan-style geoduck dishes created by the author.

Geoduck in red soup

Ingredients: 1 geoduck (about 1500 grams) 200 grams of crispy rice, 30 grams of fresh millet, chilli, 60 grams of water-coated bamboo fungus, covered with 60 grams of water-coated black fungus 50g loofah 1 (about 250g) Pixian bean paste 50g pickled pepper 50g horse ears scallions 50g shallots 50g ginger 50g garlic 50g refined salt, cooking wine, white pepper, vinegar, fermented glutinous rice, MSG, chicken essence, water bean powder, red oil, sesame oil, appropriate amount of stock 1000g, fresh pepper oil 30g, peanut oil 2000 (approximately 150g consumption)

Preparation method:

1. Use a knife to pry open the geoduck shell, cut off the spherical viscera and original skirt, make a slash on the suction pipe, wash it, put it in 80℃ hot water for a while, peel off the outer skin, and clean it. , then cut into slices and place in an ice cube bowl to stabilize; break the crispy rice into small pieces with your hands; clean the loofah and cut into diamond-shaped slices; cut the millet and pepper into rings.

2. Put a clean pot on the fire, add peanut oil and heat it until it is 60 to 70% hot. Put the broken rice crackers into the oil pot and fry until golden brown and crispy. Pour out the oil and put it into a large nest plate.

3. Take another clean pot and heat it up, add red oil to heat, add Pixian bean paste and pickled pepper paste and stir-fry until fragrant, then add ginger cubes (beat them into pieces), garlic kernels, and shallots and stir-fry briefly, add cooking wine, and add For glutinous rice, add broth, bring to a boil, use a fine-eye colander to remove the residue, then add refined salt, chicken essence, and white pepper, add bamboo fungus caps, fungus, loofah slices, horse ear scallions and millet pepper rings, and cook After the flavor is released, use sesame oil, MSG, and vinegar to adjust the flavor, add water soybean flour to form a thin gravy, and finally add geoduck slices, stir evenly, remove from the pot, put it into a large soup bowl, and serve with the freshly fried crispy rice. , the waiter pours the mussel meat in red soup on the rice casserole on the plate, and it's ready.

Features: red, white and green, spicy, sour and delicious, crisp, tender and refreshing.

Production key:

1. When preparing clam meat, the water pot should be removed from the fire, and the water temperature should not be too high, otherwise the clam meat will become tough.

2. When cooking this dish, two pots should be operated at the same time, one pot for frying the crispy rice, and one pot for cooking the geoduck in red soup, so that the finished dish will be better.

3. Geoduck dishes are cooked in Sichuan style, and the flavor can be changed according to the needs of the guests, such as lychee flavor, salty flavor, etc.

Kung Pao Geoduck

Ingredients: 1 geoduck (about 1500 grams), 50 grams of crispy cashew nuts, 25 grams each of fresh green sea pepper and red sea pepper short sections, dry red 30 grams of pepper joints, 2 grams of peppercorns, 50 grams of shallot joints, 20 grams of garlic slices, refined salt, cooking wine, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, pepper, MSG, chicken essence, water bean powder, sesame oil, appropriate amount of each, 1000 grams of fresh soup, 50 grams of peanut oil

Preparation method:

1. Use a knife to pry open the shell of the geoduck, remove the internal organs and the original skirt, make a slash along the suction pipe, wash it, then cut it in half, cut each with a cross knife, and then change it into a length of 4.5 cm and a width of 3 Centimeter rectangular blocks, put them into a bowl of ice cubes and mix well; put salt, monosodium glutamate, chicken essence, cooking wine, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, pepper, water bean powder, etc. into a bowl, and add an appropriate amount of fresh soup to make a sauce.

2. Put a clean pot on the heat, add fresh soup and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly. Add the geoduck pieces. After a while, take them out quickly, and then use a towel to dry the surface moisture.

3. Wash the pot and put it back on the heat. Add peanut oil and heat it up. Add in dried red pepper sections, fresh green pepper sections, red pepper sections, ginger slices, shallot sections and peppercorns and stir-fry until fragrant. Add in the juice and add the good elephant bark. Add clam pieces and crispy cashew nuts, pour in sesame oil, quickly stir evenly, remove from pot and serve.

Features: Rich in color, crisp and tender, sweet and sour and slightly spicy.

Production key:

1. When making geoduck chunks with fresh soup, the time must be mastered. Take them out immediately after putting them in the pot. Do not blanch them for a long time, otherwise the geoduck meat will become tough.

2. When seasoning the juice, do not use too much water soybean powder, otherwise it will affect the taste of the clam meat due to the thick gravy.

Colorful geoduck

Ingredients:

6 taels of geoduck meat (about 240 grams), 3 taels of snow peas (about 120 grams), carrots 2 taels (about 80g), 2 salted egg yolks, 2 taels of straw mushrooms (about 80g), 2 slices of ginger, a little minced garlic and green onions. Appropriate amounts of refined salt, Shaoxing wine, ginger wine, pepper, sesame oil, raw oil, etc.

Preparation method:

Cut the geoduck meat into thin slices, add Shaoxing wine and refined salt, mix well, marinate slightly, and use 70% oil to warm the oil (you can also blanch it in boiling water until tender) Tender and ripe).

Tear off the tendons of snow peas. Peel and slice the carrots into slices and blanch them in boiling water. The head of the straw mushroom is cut with a cross-shaped knife, first splash with water, and then simmer with ginger wine and refined salt.

Steamed salted egg yolk and sliced.

Heat oil in a wok, sauté minced garlic, ginger and scallions until fragrant, add geoduck slices and stir-fry evenly, then add snow peas, carrots and straw mushrooms and mix well, sprinkle with pepper and add salt Add egg yolk slices, drizzle with sesame oil, stir well and serve on a plate.

Features:

Rich in color, fresh and crisp.